What: Thomas Larson: Cell Phone Microscopy

When: Tuesday, January 28 @ 12 noon (Every other Tuesday this quarter)

Where: The Allen Center, CSE 203

Please join us for this weeks Change talk by Thomas Larson on the design and future of his low cost cell phone microscope attachment.

Abstract

Cell Phone Microscopy is the utilization of hardware built into mobile phones as a platform for microscopic imaging. Advantages over traditional microscopes include cost, portability, and the ability to rapidly transmit images and videos. Cell Phone Microscopy has the potential to supplement traditional microscopy in underserved regions for the purposes of both disease diagnosis and sanitation education.

I will be speaking about my work in developing an extremely simple and low-cost cell phone microscope attachment. The discussion will include (1) development of the attachment as an undergraduate researcher at the University of Washington, (2) crowd-funding as a means of supporting research, and (3) leveraging a for-profit company to impact global health.

About the Speaker

Thomas Larson is a graduate of the University of Washington, B.S. Mechanical Engineering ’13. He has been developing a means of cell phone microscopy for the past two years, first working with Prof. Nathan Sniadecki in the Cell Biomechanics lab, now through his company, Cell Focus.